England v Japan - Teams and Prediction

PREVIEW: England head into Saturday’s Nations Championship clash against Japan riding high after their record-breaking 45–22 victory over Australia, but Steve Borthwick knows there is little room for complacency against an opponent coached by the man who once led England to some of their greatest successes.

Eddie Jones returns to Twickenham with a young Japan side that may not have the results to show for it, but has demonstrated an appetite for attacking rugby, moving the ball at pace and testing opponents from deep. The Brave Blossoms have lost all six previous Tests against England, but Jones will relish the opportunity to cause an upset against his former employers. England are clear favourites, but they can expect a clever and committed challenge.

Borthwick has also made it clear that the battle for places in his 2027 Rugby World Cup squad is reaching a critical stage, with potentially only seven spots still available. He wants players to make a statement, but stressed the importance of balancing individual ambition with the needs of the team.

“I’m really aware the narrative around World Cup selection exists. We don’t avoid it. There are probably 26 to 28 of the 33-man (World Cup) squad which is pretty clear,” Borthwick said.

“You’re now talking about the next five, six or seven positions. It’s the balance between the team, self-sacrifice and self-expression.

“That’s where the emphasis is. This is a really exciting England team this weekend. Kevin Sinfield has spoken really well this week about the fact that when the team performs, individuals perform.”

The England coach admitted he would have preferred to make fewer changes following the Australia victory, but injuries to Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, George Furbank, Seb Atkinson and Ollie Chessum forced his hand.

Henry Pollock is among the headline selections, earning his first England start since the Six Nations defeat to Ireland in February. The Northampton forward has been named at No 8, with George Ford returning at flyhalf for his first international appearance since February.

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10 changes and a debut: Borthwick shakes up England after Australia win

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Pollock scored twice against Australia after coming on for the injured Feyi-Waboso at half-time, taking his international try tally to eight in 14 Tests. Saturday’s match will be only his second start for England.

His inclusion comes in a reshaped back row, with Ben Earl moving to openside flanker and Alex Coles switching to blindside flanker following Chessum’s shoulder injury.

There is an entirely new front row of Ellis Genge, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Asher Opoku-Fordjour, while George Martin joins captain Maro Itoje in the second row.

Ford, who has 108 Test caps, replaces Fin Smith, who guided England to victory over Australia but has been left out of the matchday 23.

Freddie Steward returns at fullback in place of the injured Furbank, while Will Joseph replaces Feyi-Waboso and Cadan Murley gets an opportunity on the left wing ahead of Tommy Freeman. Max Ojomoh comes into midfield after Atkinson was ruled out with a hip injury.

Japan arrive after a narrow 21–28 defeat against Wales in Cardiff, but Jones remains confident his young side can make an impression at Twickenham.

The Australian coach famously masterminded Japan’s stunning 34–32 victory over South Africa at the 2015 Rugby World Cup, one of the biggest upsets in the sport’s history. He subsequently took charge of England, leading them to two Six Nations titles, including the 2016 Grand Slam, and the 2019 World Cup final, where they lost to the Springboks.

Jones remains England’s most successful coach by win percentage, with a 72% record, and has fond memories of his time in charge.

“We realise England are a nation we’ve never been able to beat,” said Jones.

“I’m looking forward to going to Twickenham with this young Japanese team that’s going to play the house down.”

Reflecting on his time with England, he added: “I had seven good years there (England). If you look at the stats, they stand the test of time.”

Facing an England side who have scored over 30 points in each of their previous six encounters with Japan, the Brave Blossoms are unquestionably the underdogs heading into this weekend’s clash at Twickenham Stadium, but with victory offering the visitors the chance to climb to third in the standings, there would be no better time to pull off a historic upset.

After Japan, England face New Zealand at Allianz Stadium in their final Nations Championship fixture before Finals Weekend at Twickenham from November 27 to 29.

Players to watch:

For England: Henry Pollock has averaged a try every 22 minutes in this year’s Nations Championship (5 in 111 minutes), the best rate of any player (min. 40 minutes played), with only Will Jordan (6) scoring more tries than him overall. England have rotated heavily but still start Itoje, Ford and Genge, who have 295 Tests between them, and Ford’s game control from 10 will matter as Japan test them with kicks.

For Japan: Japan’s Ben Gunter has won the most jackal turnovers of any player in the inaugural Nations Championship (4) and is one of just five players to have made 3+ turnover-winning tackles, alongside England duo Ben Earl and Maro Itoje. Keep an eye on this duel.

Prediction:

Rugby365: England by 14 points

Teams

England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Will Joseph, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Max Ojomoh, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 George Ford (vice-captain), 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Henry Pollock, 7 Ben Earl, 6 Alex Coles, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje (captain), 3 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ellis Genge (vice-captain).
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Emmanuel Iyogun, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Arthur Clark, 20 Ben Curry, 21 Greg Fisilau, 22 Archie McParland, 23 Marcus Smit

Japan: 15 Kazuma Ueda, 14 Kippei Ishida, 13 Dylan Riley, 12 Samisoni Tua, 11 Riku Tokito, 10 Riku Kitahara, 9 Naoto Saito (co-captain), 8 Jack Cornelsen, 7 Kanji Shimokawa, 6 Ben Gunter, 5 Warner Dearns (co-captain), 4 Harry Hockings, 3 Shuhei Takeuchi, 2 Mamoru Harada, 1 Yota Kamimori.
Replacements: 16 Kenji Sato, 17 Sojiro Otsuka, 18 Opeti Helu, 19 Michael Stolberg, 20 Tiennan Costley, 21 Shinobu Fujiwara, 22 Shinya Komura, 23 Jisu Lee.

Date: Saturday November 14
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Twickenham
Kick-off: 16.40 UK (16.40 GMT, 01.40 Japan, Saturday, November 14)
Referee: Damián Schneider (Argentina)
Assistant Referees: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand), Craig Evans (Wales)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)

Additional source PA